Lelouch of the Red Ring- Growing Up Red
by Fire Wolf 2132
Summary: Having lost everything to those he considered family, a boy will discover a power unlike anything he ever imagined. But before he can acquire his vengeance with it, he has to learn how to use it. That is where Atrocitus comes in.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Code Geass or DC Comics. They are properties of their respective owners. **

**I decided to give this story another shot. This time I'm changing a few things.  
**

**Let me know what you think.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He thought he knew suffering, even at his young age. He had witnessed the death of his mother, and was was only able to watch as his beloved little sister was left crippled and blinded as a result of her trauma. He implored his father, the king of the mightiest empire in the world, to find his mother's killers and bring justice to them. He implored his father to do something, and renounced his title as prince when his father refused. His father not only ignored his pleas and continued to do nothing, but also cast him and his broken sister out of their home. He sent them to be hostages in the nation of Japan, where they would cause him no more trouble.

In Japan, things actually seemed to improve. Despite initial feelings of hostility, the boy and his sister became welcome guests in the home of Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi. The boy even forged a friendship with the Prime Minister's son, despite the two having disliked each other previously. Life was starting to look up.

But then the war came. The Holy Britannian Empire sought to expand its power throughout the world, and its eyes fell upon Japan. Despite initially wishing to remain neutral, Japan was soon faced with an enemy it could not ignore. And after the development of the Knightmare Frames, large humanoid mech weapons, Britannia became an enemy Japan could not hope to defeat.

After mere months of fighting, the once proud nation of Japan would soon be defeated, and be given the designation of Area 11. It became another colony in Britannia's growing empire.

But none of that was known to boy, nor did it matter. His only concern up until this point was to get to safety with his sister and his friend. They had seen the invasion when it began, and had been running in search of shelter ever since. It was difficult, especially considering that all three of them were children, and one of them was unable to see or walk. Yet, they walked on, hoping to survive their journey.

It was their search for shelter that led the three of them to walk through a burning wasteland, and one littered with craters, scorch marks, dead bodies, and limbs scattered throughout the area. They walked on, having been told by other survivors that they would closer to a shelter on the other side of the cliff. Whether or not the information was accurate, they did not know. But they were tired and hungry, and desperate for safety. And so they moved forward, ignoring the warning set out around them.

Their desperation for shelter distracted them from the noise when it first appeared. Only when the sound became louder did the three children turn their eyes to the sky. In the sky, they saw what it was that left craters and scorch marks in the area, what killed and tore apart the people around them. They saw three missiles heading straight at them.

The boy, being perceptive, realized that the ground the were walking on must have been a testing site for missiles, and the dead people around them were survivors who sought shelter on the other side, but were killed by rockets before they could ever make it. The boy looked ahead to his friend, who was carrying his paralyzed sister on his shoulders, and the two locked eyes, communicating a simple message to one another: **Run**.

* * *

Outside of the planets atmosphere, a small red object floats around in space. It is a ring, one bearing a strange symbol on it.

Suddenly, the ring begins to glow, a burning red light being emitted from it.

"_**Sentient Located**_" it states, as it shoots itself towards the earth.

* * *

The two ran as fast as they could, and the girl held on to her brothers friend for dear life. The blue bracelet she had on her arm shook along with the rest of her body.

The two boys continued running, even after the first missile hit the ground. It sent shockwaves throughout the ground, and produced an ear-deafening sound. But despite being shaken, the two boys refused to stop, and kept going. It wasn't until the second missile hit the ground, this one much closer, that the two boys were thrown off their feet. Deafened by the blast, and left groggy as a result, the two boys found it difficult to get off the ground. The girl had not let go of her brothers friend the entire time. Despite damaged hearing, the two boys saw the third missile, seemingly coming straight at them.

With newfound reason to run, the two boys ran as fast as their bodys would allow them to move. They ran with all their might, desperately hoping to survive. The boy wished for nothing more than to survive this brush with death, and be able to live happily with his sister and his friend. He stole a glance at his friend, who's green eyes showed a similar hope and desire. This same glance was then replaced with the images of black smoke and burning flames.

**BOOM!**

The two of them did not run fast enough, and the missile hit close to where the boys friend and sister were. The boy himself was thrown forward several feet, and landed on his head on the ground. Fresh blood fell off the right side of his face, covering his cheek and falling off his chin. This mattered nothing to him however, as his mind was plagued by one concern alone: the safety of his friend and sister. He lifted his head, hoping to find a glimpse of them.

"Nunnally! Suzaku!" he shouted, hoping one of them would respond. Neither of them did.

He forced himself to his feet, and started searching the area for any trace of their survival.

All these events have lead the boy to this very moment, as he falls on his knees, tears falling from the side of his face. In his hands is a small, blue object. A bracelet, one that once belonged to his sister. A bracelet that, in his mind, confirms the deaths of his beloved sister and his best friend.

The extreme sadness he feels over their deaths is now making way for overwhelming rage.

"_It's all Britannia's fault_", he thinks to himself. "_They failed to prevent mothers death, they cared nothing for my sisters condition, and _he_ cast me out. And now the declare war on this country, knowing full well that we were here, that the people here wanted to stay neutral. And they must have known people walked through here looking for safety. That's why they chose to use here to test their missiles. The deranged bastards wanted to kill as many of these people as possible, even now. And now the kill… they killed…_"

His mental rambling ceased at the realization that everything and everyone he loved was now gone. His home, his family, his best friend. All of them were now gone from him forever. At this point, his rage reached a melting point.

"They should all die!" he stated, as images of the entire Royal Family, his 'family', flashed his mind. "They don't care about anything but themselves. They threw me and Nunnally away the second we were no longer useful to them". He took a look to all the bodies around him. " They killed all these people without a second thought. People who just wanted to be safe, who had nothing to do with the war. They turned the world into a hell!", the boy said.

He then looked to the sky, and made his proclamation. "I swear, I will destroy Britannia! I will make them pay for everything that has happened! I will avenge every person they have killed"! He then look at the bracelet he held in his hand, making a personal promise. "Nunnally, Suzaku, I will burn them all for what they did to you" he said in a more somber voice. His grip on the bracelet tightened, and tears once again fell down his eyes, open eyes blazing with hatred. "I swear" he whispered.

It was in this moment that a red light suddenly appeared in the sky, and seemed to be heading straight towards the boy. The boy saw the light, but was unable to move. He was exhausted from the ordeal he had just been through, and was paralyzed with fear from the light coming towards him. All he could do is stand and watch as the light came closer to him.

"_So this is it_" he thought. "_I find my conviction, make my proclamation, only to be shot down not even a minute later_" he thought as he realized something. "_Everyone will be unavenged. I won't be able to exact vengeance Britannia for what they've done. They will keep going on, destroying more and more until nothing is left. And I will die here, having accomplished nothing_".

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He waited for the light to extinguish his life, to take him to where his sister and friend now were.

Except, that never happened.

His eyes shut, the boy waited for his life to end. He waited what felt like an eternity. But instead of feeling the grasp of death coming down upon him, he began to feel a glowing warmth directed towards him. Confused, the boy opened his eyes to a sight he could hardly believe.

The red light he had seen flying towards him was floating in the air mere feet away from him. It was a small ring, one with a strange symbol embedded on it, and it glowed a bloody crimson.

The boy stared at the ring, unable to comprehend how it was floating, or why it was glowing. But the biggest surprise to the boy came next.

"_**Lelouch Vi Britannia of Earth**_" the boy heard in his head. "_**You have great rage in your heart**_".

The boy looked around, trying to uncover where the voice was coming from. But the only thing around him was craters, dead bodies, and the floating ring in front of him. " _Is it the ring that is is speaking to me?_" he thought. "_How?_"

"_**You posses hatred born from suffering**_" the ring spoke again. "_**Accept this ring, and you will have the power to gain your vengeance. You will avenge those who have suffered wrongful deaths, and destroy those who have defiled the innocent**_" the ring stated.

Upon hearing this, the boy became entranced. Avenge and destroy? That was exactly what he wanted. And now this ring, a floating red ring that came from the sky, was offering him exactly that. The idea of power that the ring offered him was something the boy could not refuse, so he made his choice.

"I accept" the boy stated as he held out his hand to grab the ring.

The ring then moved, and placed itself securely on the boys ring finger. The boy looked at the ring on his finger and smiled.

His smile turned into a frown as he felt something was wrong. His face the writhed in pain as he clutched his chest, suddenly feeling an intense pain. And where his heart was, he felt a rupture.

"_What's happening to me?_" the boy thought as he felt something pushing up against his throat. He opened his mouth for air, but then found himself vomiting blood. **A lot** of blood. He couldn't stop vomiting until he felt that he got rid of all the blood in his body. At the same time, he saw body being covered in a fiery red energy, along with his appearance changing.

Where he was wearing a button shirt and shorts, he was now wearing a full black bodysuit with red gauntlets and red boots. The gloves made his hands look like claws, and the gauntlets and boots had spikes coming off of them. The upper chest area of his suit was completely red, along with the back. On his chest was a symbol, the same symbol that was on the ring. His eyes, once violet as a sign of his royal lineage, now burned a bloody crimson. As the boy studied his changed look, the ring spoke once again.

"_**Bonding with new bearer complete. Returning to Ysmault for further training**_" it stated.

"_Ysmault? Training? What does that mean?_" the boy thought. Suddenly, a red energy dome formed itself around him. Frightened, the boy tried to get out, only to realize that the dome he was inside of was now flying away from the ground. He tried to scream, but the scream was caught in his throat as he realized the dome was taking him off the ground. The dome continued carrying him farther and farther away from the ground. Soon, he was high enough that the land he once stood on now looked more like a section on a map. When he reached a high enough altitude, he saw the earth, in its entirety.

He could scarcely believe it. He was in a red bubble, flying farther and farther away from his **planet**.

He at his ring, realizing that it would be taking him farther from the planet still, to a place he couldn't imagine.

* * *

Unknown to the boy, another set of eyes had opened on earth, just in time to see a red light fly up into the air and disappear from view. The owner of these eyes would have remained on the ground in pain, if not for a pressing matter that grabbed his attention: his friends.

With no shortage of effort, Suzaku lifted himself up from the ground, ignoring the pain he felt throughout his entire body. Green eyes scanned the entire area hoping to catch a glimpse of them. "Nunnally!" he shouted. "Lelouch, where are you"?

* * *

**And… that's it for the now. Now to just clear up a few things. **

**I decided to rewrite this story in order to tell what I think will be a better one. My first attempt ended with me unable to determine how to continue. This new avenue will open more possibilities.**

**Specifically, I intend to not do the timeskip this time. This time, I want to focus on Lelouch growing up amongst the Red Lantern Corp. Being raised by superpowered space vigilantes, and having Atrocitus as a father figure.  
**

**Also, Atrocitus will be different this time around. It will be apparent from the first time we see him. Think of Injustice to get an idea.**

**Anyway, feel free to leave reviews, and I will see you all next time.**

**(By the way, anyone else excited at the news of the new Green Lantern series on HBO Max?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**The changes to the story will pop up soon. Just after the attack on Oa. **

**I don't own DC Comics or Code Geass, unfortunately.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**Introductions**

The surface of Yhsmault was in absolute chaos. All manner of beings from across the universe were scattered throughout the land. All of them wore red uniforms. All of them bore red rings.

And all of them were out of their minds. They all scattered throughout, fighting one another. Not one being spoke, only growling could be heard.

In command of such beings, was one creature. A being who had endured for centuries, who a had asserted himself as the strongest. The leader of the Red Lantern Corps.

A leader who was missing.

* * *

Lelouch flew through space in a red dome for what felt like hours. In truth, it was only a couple minutes. On his flight he saw nothing but darkness, with the occasional planets entering his view. Planets that he never knew existed. Planets that no one one earth ever knew existed either.

One particular planet that caught his attention was a barren looking red planet ahead of him. The reason it caught his eye in particular, is because it seemed he was flying right towards it.

"_Guess that's Ysmault" he thought as he approached the planet. "Looks like that's where I'm headed"._

Within a few moments, Lelouch had entered the planets' atmosphere, and only moments after that had he arrived near the surface. When his feet touched the ground, the first thing he noticed was just how barren the land was. There were no trees, no plants, no water. There was just dirt in whatever direction he looked in. In every direction, there was...

"Nothing" Lelouch said. He then looked at the ring on his hand in anger. "So you can drag me thousands of miles from my **Planet**, but then you leave me somewhere that doesn't even have..."!

_**"Ring power reaching 50%. Recharge advised. Directing bearer towards Central Battery"**_ the ring interrupted. It then began to glow, before lifting his entire hand and pointing south from where Lelouch was standing.

Lelouch sighed. "Guess I don't have a choice" he said as he began to walk in the direction the ring was pointing him in.

He walked for almost half an hour, before arriving at a cliff. "_Why did it have to be a cliff? I can never climb these by myself. I always needed Suzaku to.."_. His only real friend, his best friend. As his thoughts drifted to his fallen friend, he also thought of his sister.

Nunnally, who didn't deserve to suffer or to die, but was forced to by the cruelty of Britannia. The same attack that had killed their mother, had also taken Nunnally's ability walk and see. But despite that, she had still been the kindest and most helpful person Lelouch knew. She always tried to see the positive, to make the most of the situation. She deserved to live more than anyone.

But she, like Suzaku, was dead now. Their lives stolen due to Britannia's apathy and malice.

As his thoughts wandered to his sister, a fiery red aura started taking shape around Lelouch's body.

_**"Energy at 57% capacity. Recharge at Central Battery still advised"**_ the ring stated, breaking Lelouch from his thoughts.

"_How did the power increase?" _Lelouch wondered._ "All I did was get angry over..."_

Lelouch then had a realization. "_This ring is powered by anger"_ he deduced. _"It came to me when I was enraged over Suzaku and Nunnally dying, and its energy increased when I got mad thinking about it"_.

His eyes then moved to the top of the cliff. _"Ok, just get to the top of this cliff, get to that central battery thing, find out what this ring is and what it does, and then figure out how to use it against Britannia"_ he mentally ordered himself. With this in mind, Lelouch started climbing the cliff. He was tired from his walk and in many ways infuriated with his situation, but he forced himself up. Upon reaching the top, he took a look at what was on top of the cliff.

He then nearly lost his grip and dropped a few inches fro the shock of what he had seen. "_Was that a skeleton goat-man fighting a beachball with a face?" _Lelouch wondered. He took another look over the edge of the cliff, and saw the same outlandish sight. He also saw a blue skinned woman with bone wings wrestling with a floating octopus. There was also a man with purple skin and one eye, who had a purple-skinned woman with red hair in a chokehold.

Lelouch kept his eyes on the savage creatures before him with an incredulous look. _"I did just get dragged across the galaxy by a ring, so I guess aliens aren't exactly impossible"_ he rationalized to himself. He focused his eyes to get a better look, and noticed something that shocked him. All of those creatures had blood spewing from their mouths, and were wearing uniforms similar to the one he was in. And all of them were wearing rings. Just like the one that had come to him!

Realizing that he couldn't just hang from the cliff all day, Lelouch decided to climb up and see if there was possibly anyone who could give him answers. But upon standing up, he realized just how little interest everyone had in him. They all just kept growling and fighting one another. If any of them did notice his arrival, they certainly didn't show it. He started walking closer, waiting for someone, or something, to notice him. He waited half a minute, and everyone kept fighting each other. A minute, and he was still being ignored. Two minutes, an he was getting annoyed. Three minutes, and he just stood there frowning. Four minutes, and everyone had found someone new to fight. At five minutes, he had enough.

"Hello."

He finally go their attention. That attention, unfortunately, turned negative quickly. Upon noticing him, every being before him started growling at him. And getting closer. Their eyes also suddenly started glowing red.

Realizing that staying in one spot probably wasn't the best plan, Lelouch took a few steps back. As he did, the skeleton goat-man lunged at him, and Lelouch quickly moved out of the way. The grey beach ball with teeth tried to get close to bite him, but Lelouch kept going backwards, narrowly missing. Unfortunately, the blue woman with wings managed to grab a hold of Lelouch before throwing him back. More shocked than hurt, Lelouch bought up his head, and saw that the blue woman was had now jumped and was about to land on him.

"Get Back!", Lelouch shouted, pointing his right hand at the blue woman. The ring started glowing again, and as a line of blood fell from Lelouch's mouth, a beam of energy was shot fro the ring, hitting the strange woman square in the chest. The direct hit sent the woman flying back, and left Lelouch stunned. He looked at his ring wondering, "_Since when could you do that?_"

He didn't get much time to ponder, as the other aliens started pointing their rings at him. "_Please don't tell me their rings can do the same_" he begged to whatever deity may exist. His hopes were quickly dashed, as the aliens started shooting at him with their own lasers. Lelouch looked at his ring. "_You made a shield around me before, can you do it again?_" he mentally asked his ring. The beams were getting closer. "_PLEASE?!_" he begged this time. The ring answered him by forming the protective bubble around, shielding him from the beams.

"_Ok, the ring gives me lasers and shields. Can it give me a way out of this?"_ Lelouch wondered as the lasers kept raining down on him. As Lelouch kept wondering to himself, cracks started appearing on the dome. A shot from the cyclops-looking purple alien hit the crack, shattering the shield.

Now without a shiled, Lelouch backed up against a large rock, with the aliens approaching him.

"_I need a different weapon_" he thought. "_Something powerful. Something to make sure they stay away_". His mind drifted to the weapons of his home, particularly the strongest one he knew of. "_I could use a Knightmare right about now_".

He could picture one in his mind now. A large titan made of metal. A hulking machine designed specifically to destroy anything in its path. As he imagined the weapon in his mind, the ring started to glow again.

The aliens started approaching, with rings and claws (for those who had claws) at the ready. Lelouch, fearing for his life but also determined to survive, aimed his ring at those approaching him, hoping to send another blast at them. What happened instead surprised everyone.

Instead of a blast, the ring sent forth energy that began to take form. Lelouch watched in wonder as more blood trickled from his mouth, and his aggressors' eyes widened in fear, as the red energy took the form of a Knightmare frame.

* * *

Watching all of this unfold, was another being with a red uniform. And a red ring.

Only this one was not reduced to savagery. It was calm, and it used to simply look in amusement at the rest of the creatures as they fought. But not only had the constant fighting gotten boring after a while, it was also still in grief over the loss of his master. It often took naps as a way to ignore the others, and to try and find some peace.

It had been napping before opening its eyes to an unusual sight. It saw the entire Corps attacking one individual. Curious, the creature focused its eyes on the individual, realizing that the individual they were attacking was...

"_A Human?!"_ thought the shocked creature as its head shot up_. "That explains why the others were so rilled up"_ it thought to itself.

It continued to watch as the Human tried to defend itself against its attackers. It shot a blast that sent Bleez flying back. The creature chuckled at that. It never really liked Bleez.

The rest of the attackers readied their rings to blast the human, but it managed to get its shield up to defend itself. For an untrained rookie, the human was actually showing some talent in Ring-slinging.

But talent wasn't enough. A crack appeared on the shield, and well-placed shot from Veon managed to shatter it. The humans back was now up against a rock, and it seemed that the assailants would finally get it.

"_Probably for the best_",the creature thought. "_The human would be too great of a risk to keep. Killing it now would be safer, and would probably be a mercy_".

Just as the creature was about to return to its nap, the human did something that shock everyone to their core.

It pointed it ring forward, seemingly about to send another blast. But instead of coming out as a beam, the energy from the ring started to take form. It shaped itself into a large being, one that resembled a robot. It stood in a protective stance above the boy, and had two large guns attached to each hand, aimed at the attackers. It also had two large swords attached to each hip. But the creature was too shocked by what it was seeing to care about specifics.

The human could make **Constructs! **The ring on its hand should have rendered it incapable of doing so. Its mind should be incapable of forming thoughts beyond pain and rage, but it could actually focus and imagine.

Suddenly, the creature smirked. "_Maybe this risk could hold benefits_" it thought as it stood up on its four legs. The ring on its tail glowed, and its blue fur flowed in the wind as it flew towards the human.

* * *

To say that today held many shocks for Lelouch would be an understatement. His friend and sister were dead, he wasn't on earth anymore, aliens existed and tried to attack him, the ring that had chosen him for something could make lasers and shields, and now there was a Knightmare above him.

Or, something that looked like one. It was the size of of Knightmare, it had the general shape and weapons attached. But this thing was completely red, and seemed to be made of the same red energy his ring had.

But whatever it was, it was certainly keeping him safe. Not one of the aliens came close to him after the thing took form, they all seemed too scared.

That is until one of the aliens, the beachball-looking one, started snarling at the Knightmare and lunged at it. It didn't get very far, as the guns in the Knightmares hand aimed at it and shot. The blasts coming from those guns were much stronger, and forced the alien not just a few yards back, but also a few feet into the ground.

Despite the failure on the ball creatures part, the other aliens seemed emboldened. They started getting closer, some even avoiding the Knightmares gunfire. When a few got too close, the Knightmare abandoned its guns, and took out the swords on its hips. It then took slashes at the ground, hitting some of the aliens, and keeping the rest at a distance.

The energy Knightmare was keeping all the Hostiles away from Lelouch. Things finally seemed to be going his way.

So of course it all had to fall apart.

"**_Ring power falling below 10%. Recharge required soon_**", the ring said, breaking Lelouch's concentration. It was also at that moment that a stray beam struck the Knightmare through the head, causing the whole thing to shatter.

Now Lelouch was truly defenseless. The aliens were getting closer, and Lelouch was drained of his energy. The previous rage that had let him shoot lasers, make shields, and create... whatever that Knightmare-looking thing was, was gone. Lelouch stood there, watching as the hostiles got closer, awaiting his fate with no hope of rescue.

If he had hoped for rescue, he certainly wouldn't have expected it in the form that it came.

As Lelouch was about to submit, he heard a noise above him that sounded like... hurling?

Lelouch looked above, and saw a creature flying above, vomiting its blood at the aliens. The creature looked like a cat, but Lelouch could not see it all that well from below. He was about about to question how vomiting blood at hostiles would do anything more than annoy or disgust them, but then he saw the smoke rising. The blood that was on the ground was burning into the ground, and it was radiating heat. "_Must a form of acid_", Lelouch thought.

The creature then lowered itself to the ground, letting Lelouch see that it was... a cat. An actual cat, with blue fur, a red uniform, and a ring on its tail. "_Ok, first magic rings, then aliens, and now a cat_", Lelouch thought. "_Can this day get any more insane_".

What happened next answered Lelouch's question perfectly.

"Leave! Now!" the cat shouted. The small animal, which should be nothing more than a simple house pet on Earth, was giving orders to a bunch of aliens. Actually, literally speaking! The only thing crazier than that was the fact that the aliens were obeying its orders. They dispersed, although some seemed reluctant to do so. The cat then turned its body towards towards Lelouch.

"You! Follow me!" the cat yelled at Lelouch. It was at that moment that Lelouch's mind shut down on him. He took one step forward, then promptly blacked out, landing face-first on the ground.

The cat looked at the unconscious body with unamused look. "Great" it said sarcastically. It then shot a beam at Lelouch, one that surrounded his entire body, before dragging him away.

* * *

Lelouch awoke some time later, and the first thing he realized was how much his head hurt. "_I really hope that all that crazy stuff was just a dream. Hopefully everything will be normal_" he thought as he rubbed his head.

When he opened his eyes, he got a look at his surroundings. He was resting on a flat column, one that looked similar to a coffin. Around him were some trees, and in the distance there was a lake, which had red water for some reason. He looked at himself, and realized that he was in a black and red uniform, and there was a red ring on his right hand. "_None of it was a dream_" Lelouch realized, his eyes fallen and his face crestfallen. "_I actually was bought here to Yhsmault, I did fight those aliens, and Nunnally did..."_.

"You are awake" a raspy, primitive sounding voice said behind Lelouch. He looked down, and saw the same blue cat that had held off his attackers before. It was lying on the floor, right next to the column he was on.

"You... can talk" Lelouch said back to the cat. The cat snorted.

"Clearly", it retorted with its hoarse voice. It then stood up and started walking away. It walked ahead a few feet, before stoping and turning around. "Coming?" it asked.

"Where?", Lelouch asked. "You have questionsss" the cat said. "I'm taking you to answerssss".

Not really in a position to argue with the cat, Lelouch got up and started walking after it. They walked in silence for a few minutes before reaching the edge of a cliff. This one miles higher than the one Lelouch had previously climbed. Falling down this would probably cripple a person, if it didn't outright kill them.

"Can you fly?", the cat asked suddenly. Lelouch looked at the cat. "Fly?" he asked back. What was the cat talking about? He flew here to Yhsmault, but only because the ring formed a bubble around. Did he want him to do that again, or was there a flying vehicle nearby that the cat couldn't use?

Before he ask the cat to clarify, it looked up at him with an annoyed expression. "Yesss. Fly" it stated. A red aura then formed around the cats body, and it started levitating off the ground. Lelouch looked at it in surprise, as the cat pointed its body in the direction away from the cliff before saying: "If you can, catch up". It then started flying away, leaving Lelouch where he was.

"Hey, wait!" Lelouch shouted as he picked up his pace to hurry after the cat. In his pace, he failed to realize that his foot had stepped over the edge of the cliff. "Wha...?" was the only thing Lelouch got to say before his body fell over the cliffs edge. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" Lelouch shouted. "You made a dome around me before. Do it again! Come on!" As he was about to hit the ground, Lelouch closed his eyes and braced for impact.

The impact never came.

When Lelouch opened his eyes, he was staring directly at the ground. A ground he was floating directly above of. He looked at himself, and saw the same red aura that the cat had gained before flying off. "_I can actually fly! That's amazing_!",Lelouch thought. He then looked at his ring in annoyance. "Would have been nice for you to let me know I could do that" he said. The ring did not respond.

Looking up at the sky, Lelouch searched for the cat. He saw him, now flying away miles ahead of him. Pointing his ring upward, Lelouch propelled his body forwards. With speeds Lelouch didn't know he could move at, Lelouch rocketed towards the cat, and soon caught up. When he was beside the cat, it spoke.

Sssemesss you can fly. Good", it said. "Keep up". With that, the cat sped forward at even greater speeds, leaving Lelouch behind. It smirked in amusement when it looked back at Lelouch's bewildered face. "Hey", Lelouch yelled as he tried to keep up. While he never lost sight of the cat, he could never catch up, much to his irritation.

After a few minutes, the cat started descending, and Lelouch followed suit. Once on the ground, Lelouch got a look at their apparent destination. It was a large building, painted all in red, with round roof. It seemed that a black crystal was logged in between the two main doors, keeping them together. "What is this place?" Lelouch asked. The cat did not answer. Instead, it pointed its ring at the crystal, and fired a beam at it.

When the beam hit the crystal, it immediately started glowing red. Suddenly, the doors the crystal held together started opening. Once they fully opened, they revealed an enormous book, floating on a pedestal in the center of an equally enormous room.

"What is that?" Lelouch asked.

"The Butchersss Book", the cat stated. It then turned around to leave. "Read it, it hasss answersss. Return where you woke when you are done".

And with that, the cat flew away, leaving Lelouch alone. "Might was well" Lelouch said as he walked towards the book.

* * *

It took Lelouch two hours the read the book in it's entirety. It took him another hour just to comprehend it.

"_How can any of this be real_?" Lelouch thought. It all sounded so outlandish, so insane. "_It almost feels like I walked straight into a comic book_".

He needed to collect himself. "_Ok. Ok. Just keep going over it until it makes sense_" he thought as he looked through the book again.

Apparently, everything started when a group of seemingly immortal aliens who called themselves the "Guardians of the Universe". "That's a rather pretentious name",Lelouch thought. "Also, immortal? Really?" Lelouch looked at the ring on his hand. "_I guess it is possible_", he admitted before continuing.

It seems that the Guardians had created a robotic army called the Manhunters, who were supposed to act as a sort of police force. For while they seemed to do just that.

And then the Massacre of Sector 666 occurred. A tragedy Lelouch still couldn't wrap his head around. In a portion of space where there were at least a hundred planets, the Manhunters had wiped out almost all life in it. **Trillions** of lived had been lost, with only five survivors. As mush as Lelouch still despised Britannia, even he had to admit that they were never capable of something so horrific.

But, shockingly, the guardians did not face consequences for what their Manhunters had done. They simply discarded their old army, and made a new one.

The Green Lanterns. According to the Butchers Book, the Green Lanterns had a similar mission to the Manhunters. They were meant to patrol all 3600 sectors of the universe, and safeguard it from threats. Unfortunately, the Green Lanterns were also defective. They served the Guardians like dogs on leashes, and followed regulations that led to lose of life when it could have been prevented. For a Corp powered by will, they seemed to be very submissive.

The book also went into detail over the other Lantern Corps.

There were the Star Sapphires, or Violet Lanterns, who were powered by love. They wished to spread love throughout the universe, which didn't sound too bad. Might be naive, and ineffective, but it seemed harmless.

The Indigo Tribe, whose power comes from compassion. From the looks of it, the rings actually seek out the most apathetic people and make them compassionate. An idea tat bought a smile to Lelouch's face.

The Blue Lanterns, powered by hope. The book described them as "strange but dangerous".

The Sinestro Corps, or Yellow Lanterns, powered by fear. The book had seemingly nothing positive to say about them. Given that their mission was to use fear to take control of the universe, it was easy to see why.

The Orange Lanterns, or Lantern, was a being named Lafleeze. His power comes from greed. from the looks of it, he is mostly harmless as long as he is left alone. But the book also says that he is one of the most dangerous Lanterns, so leaving him alone is a wise move.

And then there were the Red Lanterns. The Corp that Lelouch was now a part of. They bore red rings powered by bloodshed and fury. "_Fitting_" Lelouch thought as he looked at his.

The Corp had been started by one of the five survivors of the five survivors of the 666 Massacre, a being named Atrocitus. After battling for revenge against the Guardians for eons (_Guess he's immortal too_), Atrocitus used the blood of his fallen fellows to forge the first Red Lantern Power Battery (_I should probably get one for my ring_). He then formed his own Corp, meant to both fight the Green Lanterns and be better than them.

Unlike the Greens, the Red Lanterns did not allow themselves to be limited. They would find any injustices they could, and enact swift and brutal punishments. Lelouch liked that.

But then he went to the section of the book that explained the powers and functions of the ring. The powers were an almost ridiculously long list. It included flight, energy blasts, force fields, a universal translator (I can talk to aliens then. Neat), an early warning system, life support, wormhole creation, and energy constructs. "_Constructs? That must be the Knightmare-looking thing I created back when i was attacked. Says here I can create **anything** I can imagine. that could be usefu_l" Lelouch thought.

But then the book went into detail over what happens when a ring bonds to a living being. Usually, it reduces its bearer to a feral state, driven purely by blind rage. "_Wonder why I wasn't_" Lelouch thought as he continued reading. He then read aloud. "The rings also replace... the users... heart" Lelouch said as his voice lowered and his sense of dread increased.

"_That's why I vomited all that blood when I got the ring. My heart exploded when I attained it. That means that if I lose the ring I'lll... die_" Lelouch realized. He had to sit down to come to terms with that fact.

"I die if I lose the ring" Lelouch repeated. Suddenly his eyes narrowed, burning with determination. "If I die, then so be it" he proclaimed. He had sworn to destroy Britannia for what they had done. If the price to do so required his life, then so be it. "I intend to kill. Therefore, I should be ready to die myself" he said.

But before he could do anything, he needed a plan. And he would need help. He couldn't ask the other Red Lanterns, they were little more than animals anymore. The cat might be helpful, but he didn't seem very friendly. No, the best person to help him would be the leader of the Red Lanterns. Atrocitus himself.

But there was a problem with that.

The book not only told the history of the Lanterns, it also told current events. And currently, Atrocitus was locked on on Oa after being captured by the Green Lanterns after a battle. Lelouch needed to find a way to free him. But he couldn't do it alone. He needed intelligent help.

The book told him that the cat was called Dex-Starr. It was Dex-Starr who could help him best.

* * *

Lelouch found Dex-Starr in the same place that he had woken up earlier. The cat seemed to sense him coming, and turned around. "Got your answersss?" it asked.

"That and more" Lelouch responded. Dex-Starr nodded.

"Need anything else?" he asked. Lelouch was about to ask about Atrocitus, when the ring spoke in his mind again. "**_Rings energy levels below 10%. Recharge at Central Battery required"._**

"My ring says I need to go to the Central Battery. Do you know where it is?" I asked him. He nodded, then started floating. "Follow me" he said as he started flying away. I flew after him.

We flew for a few minutes, before we arrived a large staircase. We landed in the middle of it. "Come" Dex-Starr told me, and we started walking to the top. Once we reached the top, I was greeted by the sight of an enormous, red colored lantern. That must be the Central Battery.

"What do I do now?" I asked Dex-Starr.

He responded. "Speak the oath. Ring will charge".

His answer left me confused. "What oath?" I asked.

He looked my directly in eyes. "Point your ring. Then you know". I didn't know what he meant, but I decided to listen to him.

I walked closer to the battery. Then I lifted my right hand, and pointed my ring at it. Suddenly, I felt... words in my mind. I never knew them before, but I recited them as if I had my entire life.

**With blood and rage of crimson red,**

**Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,**

**Together with our hellish hate,**

**We'll burn you all,**

**That is your fate!**

As soon as I recited that oath that I suddenly knew, my body felt reinvigorated. Where I once felt slightly tired, now I felt energy coursing through every part of my body. If the red aura surrounding me was any indication, it probably was.

Dex-Starr then spoke. "Well?" he asked. I then looked down at him. "Your leader, Atrocitus?" I asked him back.

Suddenly, his eyes grew more suspicious, and body seemed ready to pounce. "What about him?" he responded with an edge.

"Do you have any plans to get him back?"

* * *

**So this is what I have for now, hope you guys enjoyed.**

**Like I said, this story will now focus on Lelouch being raised among he Red Lanterns. Specifically, Atrocitus will be the Kratos to his Atreus. More of that will be seen after the attack on Oa.**

**Until next time, please leave reviews.**

**Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a reminder, I have no ownership over Code Geass or DC Comics.**

**Also, be prepared. The Atrocitus here will be different from both canon and my last attempt at this story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Jailbreak **_

**OA**

The Sciencells of Oa, meant to store the greatest enemies of the Green Lanterns.

In one such cell, one more heavily fortified than the rest, laid Atrocitus. To prevent the usage of his ring, a Blue Lantern battery, lent to the Guardians by Saint Walker, was laid before his cell. And on his arms, legs, and waist, restraints were put in place to suppress his immense strength

One would think that being powerless would render him harmless. But the Green Lanterns knew better. The other prisoners knew better. And even as he refused to move, or even open his eyes, they refused to go near the cell.

All but one, that is.

As Abin Sur walked past each cell, the prisoners rilled up and jeered at him. But he paid them no mind. He continued his walk, until he made it to his destination.

"Atrocitus" he said as he looked at the prisoner before. At hearing the Ungarans voice, Atrocitus opened his eyes to glare at his enemy.

"I've come to inform you of your sentence. Tomorrow, the Alpha Lanterns will be executing you in front of the Citadel".

"An execution? On Oa?" Atrocitus lifted his head to stare Abi Sur directly in his eyes. He scoffed. "It seems your Guardians are finally showing their true colors".

"This fate is of your doing Atrocitus" Abin retorted. " You chose to wage war against us. You chose to defy the Guardians..."

"What would you have me do instead?" Atrocitus interrupted. His voice was not laced with it's usual rage. It was far more reserved, and... sad? "The blue devils and their Manhunters killed my people, and wiped all life from my sector. Do you honestly expect me to able to forgive such a heinous crime?"

"I have only come to inform you. I have nothing to discuss with you" Abin cooly responded. He turned to walk away, and Atrocitus spoke again.

"Not even the rage you hide within yourself?" That question stopped Abin dead in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"

"Do not attempt to hide it. The wounds of betrayal mark you to your core", Atrocitus said. "Your brother Sinestro turned against both you and your Corp. Your own son chose his uncle over you. Do no pretend that these betrayals do not wound you."

Abin Sur turned and met Atrocitus' gaze. For several moments, neither spoke.

"Tomorrow you will be dead. Perhaps then your deranged Corp will be easier to dispose of." And with that, Abin Sur took his leave, leaving Atrocitus alone.

Confined in his cell, Atrocitus pondered his options. Without him, his Corp would have no direction, no leadership. He had ensured that no Red Lantern other than himself (and possibly Dex-Starr) could form logical thought. That meant that hoping that they would mount a rescue for him would be a fools hope.

Perhaps he should have let allowed some of them to retain their intellect.

He could attempt to escape himself, but the Blue Lantern battery was nullifying the powers of his ring, and the greens were likely to have one present at his planned execution. His strength, while immense, was also being held back by the enchanted restraints being used on him.

His options were limited, and his time was short. He needed to find a means to escape. In order to prevent those deaths from being in vain.

* * *

**Yhsmault**

"This is really good. What did you say it was called?" Lelouch asked as he took another bite into an alien fruit. He had recently remembered that he needed food, and Dex-Starr had shown him a forest with trees that gave surprisingly delicious fruit.

"Massster callsss it blood fruit. He likes it too" Dex-Starr informed him. He then floated up and positioned himself on Lelouch's shoulder. "Plan?" he asked.

"Right. Right" Lelouch muttered as he quickly finished the fruit. He started pacing as he explained his ideas. "So he's being held on a planet called Oa, in the uhh... Sciencells?" he asked the cat, who nodded in confirmation.

"Ok. So we need a way to get him out without the Green Lanterns stopping us. You said you can create wormholes?"

"Yessss. Massster taught me" Dex-Starr confirmed.

"Alright. So we can use that for entry and escape. But how do we get to the Sciencells without attracting the enemies?"

Dex-Starr pondered the question before responding. "I do not know."

Hearing that, Lelouch took a seat on the ground, trying to come up with a viable solution. He needed something that would distract all the Green Lanterns so that he and Dex-Starr could free Atrocitus. Something loud, impossible to ignore.

As he continued wondering, he realized that he had walked back to where he first met the other members of the Corp. They were still there, fighting amongst themselves.

"What about the rest of the Red Lanterns?" he asked Dex-Starr, who looked at him in surprise. "Can't we use them as a distraction?"

"Yesss", Dex-Starr agreed smiling. But then he frowned. "Ssstill need more."

"Why?" Lelouch asked.

"Red Lanternsss hundred. Green Lanternsss thousand."

"Oh" Lelouch said, realizing his disadvantage. The Red Lanterns could be a great diversion, but they wouldn't be enough to distract the whole Green Corps.

He needed something else. Something to catch the Greens off guard first, and then send the Reds after them. He turned his eyes to the Red Lanterns. They were still fighting one another. Nothing was different from before.

Except for the blue-skinned woman with wings.

Lelouch didn't know her name, but unlike the others, she wasn't fighting anyone anymore. She seemed to be stalking the the alien with one eye and purple skin (Lelouch would definitely need to learn their names). Behind the purple alien, there was a large rock. The woman walked up behind him, and pushed the rock down on him.

The purple skin was immediately brought down. He managed to get the rock off, but the disorientation from being knocked down made him vulnerable. The winged woman took advantage of that when she tackled him down.

Seeing this, Lelouch's face broke into a grin.

"Hey Dex-Starr?"

The cat focused its face on Lelouch. "What?"

"Do you know if there are any astroid or meteor belts close to Oa?"

* * *

**The Next Day- Oa**

"Today is the day" said Tomar-Re, the Xudarian member of the Green Lantern Corps.

"Yeah. 'Bout time too. Poozers will probably sleep better with Big Red out of the way" said Kilowog, the Green Lanterns resident Bolovaxian. "Hell, the rest of his blood-thirsty lunatics might just be easier to deal with now."

"Perhaps Kilowog, perhaps" said Salaak, the ever pessimistic Keeper of the Book of Oa. "Do you share this optimism, Abin Sur?"

The mentioned Ungaran did not respond, as he was focused on the Citadel of Oa. His intense stare caused worry in Tomar, one of his closest friends.

"Abin, is everything all right?"

His concentration broken, Abin responded to his friend. "I am alright old friend. And today is a good day, for we will be free of an enemy." He turned back to the Citadel. "But what concerns me is the Guardians. They know that Atrocitus is to be executed today, but they still chose to leave the planet. I do not know why."

Salaak then spoke up. "The records say they left to secure an alliance with the new leaders of Korugar. They also mentioned that they would be visiting the site of a recently imploded planet. They want to see if there is anything to preserve."

Kilowog snorted. " I know those missions are important and all, but why the would the Guardians want to perform them themselves? And why today?"

At this, Abin Sur sighed. "I suppose we will have to do as we always have, and place our faith in the Guardians. And let us not forget that, as you said Tomar, today is the day."

And with that, all four friends began walking to the Citadel.

* * *

**Space- 50 Miles From Oa**

"Did they get them?" Lelouch asked the approaching Dex-Starr.

Once Dex-Starr was close enough, he nodded in confirmation.

"Good, so now we ca..."

"Two thingsss" Dex-Starr interrupted, just as the rest of the Red Lanterns took their places around them.

"What? What two things?" Lelouch asked the cat, confused.

"One. New name" he said, confusing Lelouch further. "I have a name. I told you, its Lelo..."

"Weak name! Need new one" Dex-Starr said as he started floating incircles around Lelouch. He eyed and sniffed certain parts of him, irritating him greatly.

"Would you stop wasting time? We need to..."

"Got it!" Dex-Starr suddenly said.

"Got what?" Lelouch asked.

"New name" Dex-Starr said before floating up to meet Lelouch at eye level.

**"Rankorr"**.

"Rankorr? Really?" Lelouch deadpanned. "Fine, whatever, now can we...?"

"Two" Dex-Starr interrupted again. "Masssk."

Lelouch furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing that. "Why do I need a mask?" he asked.

"You are human. That isss bad. Hide your face".

That response left Lelouch even more confused. "Why is being a human a bad thing?" he asked.

That question seemed to irritate Dex-Starr. "Weak ssspeciesss. Underessstimate. Now tell ring for massskk. Now!" he ordered.

"Fine! Fine, I'll do it" Lelouch agreed. he was slightly offended, but he looked at his ring. "Can you make me a mask?" he asked it. The ring glowed in response, and Lelouch did feel something warm around his face. But he didn't feel any different.

"Did it work?" he asked Dex-Starr, who nodded in response. "Now can we start?"

Another nod.

Lelouch took a look around at the Red Lanterns. It had taken some work, but Lelouch and Dex-Starr had managed to make the other Lanterns follow their orders. It was especially difficult since many of them seemed incapable of thinking about anything past fighting. But to Lelouch, the efforts were worth it. Especially when he saw they cargo they carried with them.

Meteors.

Surprisingly, the group was able to find an abundance of meteors in a belt not too far from Oa. They managed to get about two dozen in their possession.

Currently, the group was outside of the planet Oa's range to detect. Fortunately, they were within range to launch the meteors straight at the planet.

"Everyone ready?" Lelouch yelled at his group. Dex-Starr nodded at him, while everyone else just growled. Lelouch took that as a yes.

"Get ready!" he ordered. As he did, he used his ring to form practiced constructs around the three closest meteors: catapult constructs. The rest of the group merely covered their meteors in a red aura in preparation to toss them.

All eyes were focused on Oa. Specifically, the area where the citadel was supposed to be.

"**Fire!**"

And with that order, the meteors were shot directly at Oa. Once they had entered the atmosphere, the meteors shot towards the surface of the planet with intense power.

Lelouch smirked at the sight, and then turned to Dex-Starr.

"Get the wormhole ready."

* * *

**Oa**

"Jeez, what's taking the poozers so long?" Kilowog exclaimed as he waited for the execution to begin.

Tomar-Re turned to his large friend. "Atrocitus is one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy Kilowog, so I assume that caution and patience would be required to move him. Also, I would avoid calling the Alpha Lanterns "poozers". They might take that as an insult."

Kilowog at his response. "They act like poozers, I call them poozers. 'Sides, the whole Corp is here to watch the show. Not very nice to keep everyone waiting."

"The Alpha Lanterns are meant to be the best of us. Don't think being nice to us is their main concern" Salaak said.

"Peace, please" said Abin Sur. " Everyone is feeling a little impatient, but let us simply calm down and wait..."

Suddenly, the rings on every Green Lantern began to glow and beep. The alarms throughout all the Citadel began to blare with warning.

**Warning! Meteors on Route for Citadel Inbound!**

Upon hearing this, the Lanterns looked to the sky with fear. There they saw the large space rocks hurling straight towards them.

"Ring!",yelled Abin Sur. "How many meteors are inbound? And how long until they reach us?"

_**25 meteors detected. Estimated time to impact: two minutes. **_

"Lanterns! Calm yourselves!" Abin shouted over the concerns of his comrades. "Do not give in to fear! Use your willpower and start forming shields! We cannot let the Citadel be destroyed!"

Hearing his words, many Lanterns began to compose themselves, and flew up with Abin Sur above the buildings. Once they were high enough in the sky, they started forming a large shield above the citadel.

Two of the meteors were falling relatively close to one another. They were the first to hit the shield, and prove that it could hold.

"Keep it up like this my fellow Lanterns! We can protect ourselves! We simply have to keep up this shield!"

Despite his words, one Lantern was feeling fear. Barin, a slug-like alien had returned to Oa hoping to be rid of an enemy, was shaken up not only by the direct attack on Oa, but also by the horrors he had recently witnessed on his last mission. It was these horrors that distracted him, and took power away from his construct.

He did not realize that the third meteor was falling above him until it was too late. When he looked up to the shadow that was obscuring him, the space rock had already broken through his area of the shield.

When the meteor hit Oa's surface, it destroyed a section of the Citadel, and took Barin with it.

Things got worse from there.

Many Lanterns were shaken by the loss of a comrade. For many, the loss led to a loss of concentration, which led to weakening shields.

Which led to more meteors breaking through.

While Abin and many other strong-willed Lanterns were able to hold their place and shields, many were not.

Out of the almost two dozen meteors that were launched at Oa, more than half made an impact.

The Citadel was in ruins, with destruction and death all around.

Abin Sur, despite being saddened by the sight, could not remain as he was. He looked around to those whose shields had not broken, including Tomar, Kilowog, Salaak, and a handful of others.

"We cannot stay here! They need help on the ground!" he shouted, and the remaining Lanterns followed him down.

They landed and immediately got to work on the damage. The lifted chunks of building that had fallen, and tried to alleviate the injuries sustained by many Lanterns on the ground.

"This doesn't make sense" Kilowog suddenly said. "No meteors have ever come this close to Oa. So why do we suddenly have this many crash down on us?"

Tomar was about to answer him, but suddenly something from above caught his attention. "I think we have a bigger problem," he said with eyes widened in shock and mouth opened agape.

Kilowog, and many others, turned around. Their reactions were similar.

In the sky, a wormhole was opening. It was red in color, and seemed to be growing larger.

Suddenly, red ring-bearers shot forth from the portal, and descended upon the still recovering Green Lanterns.

"It's the Reds!" Kilowog bellowed. He then turned to his comrades. "Look alive poozers! We gotta fight them back!"

The Green Lanterns, many still shaken and injured, held up their rings and prepared for battle. Abin Sur chief among them.

"Salaak! Call the Alpha Lanterns here! We will need their help", he ordered his friends.

Salaak nodded, and sent the message to the Alpha Lanterns. "They're not responding! Communications are damaged!" he yelled.

"Blast!," said Abin. He looked around to find a Lantern in good condition. His eyes landed on the Durlan recruit.

"Von Daggle!" Abin shouts. "I need you to go to the Sciencells. We need the Alpha Lanterns here to repel the attack."

Reluctant to leave, but seeing the logic in Abin's words, Von Daggle nodded.

"Good then" Abin Sur said. "We will fight on until you arrive."

"**Lanterns! Attack!**"

And with that order, two Corps, powered by different lights of the Emotional Spectrum, raced towards each other to meet in combat.

* * *

"This worked better than I hoped," Lelouch said.

While the rest of the Red Lanterns had entered Oa through the giant wormhole Dex-Starr had made in the sky, he and Lelouch (who Dex-Starr was still calling Rankorr) had arrived through a smaller wormhole hidden in one of the demolished buildings.

"You said you know where the Sciencells are?" Lelouch asked the flying cat.

"Yesss. Took knowledge from Laira," the cat responded. A response that, once again, left Lelouch confused. He knew who Laira was, and that she used to be a Green Lantern, but he didn't understand how Dex-Starr _took_ knowledge from her. He would ask later.

"Alright then, lead the way," he said.

And with that, the child and the cat quietly made their way to the Sciencells, hoping to free the leader of the Red Lanterns.

* * *

Within his cell, Atrocitus watched as the Alpha Lanterns of the Green Lantern Corp approached him. They were sent to restrain him and move him to the Citadel, where he would be executed.

As they approached him, Atrocitus pondered over what he could do. Killing them, for as much as he wanted to, was not an option. His restraints prevented that.

But just as the Lanterns were about to begin moving him, a new Lantern burst in.

Atrocitus had never seen this one before. It had yellow skin and antennae on his head. He looked like a squishy bug.

"Alpha Lanterns, we need your assistance outside!" It's shouts seemed desperate, and its breath short.

"What are you doing here, Don Vaggle?!" Boodika shouted with enough force to shake him alert. "You and the rest of the Lanterns are supposed to be at the Citadel, we have to..."

"The Citadel is in ruins! We are under attack!" Van Daggle shouted back, shocking the Alpha Lanterns. "We couldn't contact you because communications are down. But we need your help now!"

"Right!" Chaselon looked at his fellow Alpha's. "We can move the prisoner later. We need to repel the attackers." He then looked at Van Daggle. "We need you to stay and guard Atrocitus. He cannot be allowed to escape."

"Understood" Van Daggle took his spot in front of the cell, while the Alpha Lanterns made their way outside.

Still in his cell, Atrocitus pondered what he had heard. Something was attacking Oa, something that required the attention of even the Alpha Lanterns. Whatever it was, perhaps he could take advantage of it.

"_It seems escape may not be as impossible as I may have believed"._

Almost unconsciously, a large grin appeared on the face of Atrocitus.

"**Well then**."

* * *

The Citadel of Oa was a sight straight out of hell. Buildings were in ruins, demolished, or both. The bodies of dead Green Lanterns littered the floor, their rings having left them to find new bearers.

Above the carnage on the ground, chaos ruled the sky.

Red and Green Lanterns faced each other in combat, neither side able to gain a decisive edge. The Greens were smarter and had the advantage of constructs, but they were still recovering from the meteor shower from earlier. Whats more, the Reds were completely relentless and brutal. They showed no mercy to their emerald adversaries.

"This is insane!" Kilowog bellowed as he continued to smash away Red Lanterns with his favorite construct: a large hammer. "First we gotta deal with a freakin' meteor shower, and now we got all these bloodthirsty loons! How'd they even get here?"

"We were distracted," Tomar-Re said. "We were too busy recovering to put our attention to the planetary defenses. And the Red Lanterns have decided to take advantage of our situation. A truly terrible coincidence."

"I do not believe this to be a coincidence," Abin Sur said as he blasted two Red Lanterns away. "The timing is too perfect. The attack commenced immediately after the meteors fell upon us." A Red Lantern tried to attack him from behind, but Abin Sur turned around and retaliated with a fist construct. The enemy was sent flying back.

"I believe this attack was planned."

"Abin, that is ridiculous!" Salaak shouted as he held back attackers. "The Red Lanterns are incapable of thought, let alone strategy."

"These Red Lanterns no. But perhaps there is a mastermind directing them. Whether that be Atrocitus himself or another, there is a chance that the Red Lanterns are being directed."

"Abin, Atrocitus has been locked in his cell. How would he be able to strategize and relay orders to his Corp?" Tomar-Re asked as he managed to knock out an attacking Red.

"Perhaps the plan was laid beforehand, or as I said, someone else made the plan," Abin said, creating a shield to block a Red Lantern's napalm attack. Once the the attack dissipated, Abin knocked his attacker back with a strike to the face. "In any case, all we can focus on for now is driving them back. And we cannot let them free Atrocitus from the Sciencells. They must not pass us by even an inch!"

"Agreed, Abin Sur", a voice said.

Abin looked up, and saw the Alpha's descending from the sky.

"You are here."

"Yes", responded Chaselon. "Now let us drive back the enemy."

"I'm with you there poozer!", Kilowog bellowed. "Come on runts! Time to send them back!"

With that order, the green of will was invigorated, and the Corp rushed against their scarlet adversaries.

* * *

"Quickly! Come!", Dex-Starr loudly whispered to Lelouch, who was rushing behind him.

"Alright, alright! I'm keeping up!" Truth be told, Lelouch would have rather flown to the Sciencells, since running wasn't his specialty. But they couldn't risk having the Greens see them.

"There" Dex-Starr said, looking at a tall, imposing building in the distance. It was large, square-like, and seemingly impenetrable. "He isss there."

"How do we get in?"

"The roof" Dex-Starr said as he started floating. "Opening isss there."

"Finally. Flying" Lelouch muttered as he and Dex-Starr ascended to the top of the fortress. Once they were on top, the searched for an opening.

"There" Dex-Starr said, facing a vent. It had to be connected to the ventilation system. Luckily, it was large enough for both of them to fit in.

"Alright. Let's go" Lelouch said as they both jumped in.

* * *

Von Daggle was very conflicted at the moment. He understood the need to guard Atrocitus, but he felt compelled to help his fellow Lanterns. Even so, he had been ordered by the Alphas, so he had to stay put.

"I sense your struggle Green Lantern" the prisoner suddenly said.

"I feel no struggle demon. I will follow my orders and ensure you do not escape" Von Daggle replied.

"Do you now? I have my doubts" Atrocitus responded.

Daggle turned to face the prisoner. "Would you like for me to kill you here and now? I have the authority."

"Perhaps. But would the little dog disobey his masters?" Atrocitus retorted, his grin growing wider.

Von Daggle turned back to Atrocitus. There was nothing but contempt in both their eyes.

"You will not escape Atrocitus. I promise you this" Daggle swore.

"We will see" was Atrocitus' only reply.

* * *

"Is he here?" Lelouch whispered as he looked down from inside the vents.

Dex-Starr took a scent from the air. "He isss here. Behind the yellow one" he said. His eyes directed Lelouch towards a yellow-skinned alien with antennae on his head. Atrocitus must be locked in the cell behind it.

"Are there any other Lanterns here? Beside him?"

Dex-Starr sniffed the air again. "No."

"Alright. So the goal here is to take him out and free Atrocitus. Any suggestions?"

Dex-Starr pondered, then spoke. "You dissstract. I free Massster."

Lelouch suddenly felt anxious. "Me? How am I supposed to do that? I can't fight!"

Dex-Starr looked at him, unconvinced. "You fought on Yhsmault."

"I didn't fight! All of that was me defending myself. I was defending myself!" Lelouch responded, careful not to let his voice become too loud.

Now Dex-Starr looked annoyed. "He will attack, so defend yoursself again! Go!"

Lelouch was about to argue again, but Dex-Starr's eyes were glowing red, and there was blood beginning to trickle down his chin.

Lelouch made his way out of the vents.

* * *

Van Daggle was having trouble calming his struggle. Atrocitus was having trouble containing himself.

The former desperately needed to know how his comrades were doing, while the latter was in desperate need of bloodshed.

The tension between the two was rising, rising and rising.

Suddenly, one of the vents on the wall burst open. From it a figure appeared.

It wore a Red Lantern uniform. It bore the crimson ring on it's right hand, and the insignia of the Corp was branded on it's chest. It was also rather small, mush shorter that Van Daggle himself. It's head was hidden behind a mask. The mask had spikes on top, and in place of a face, it had a large, red oval.

"Identify yourself!" Daggle ordered.

Instead of answering, the figure aimed it's ring at him and fired. Daggle responded by forming a shield.

"Here to free your master, I see" Daggle said as he forced the beam back. "I will not allow it!"

Von Daggle formed a sword in his right arm, and rushed to strike the enemy Red Lantern.

Said Red Lantern formed a shield dome around itself, preventing Daggle's strike from reaching it.

But Daggle kept striking, and soon enough cracks were beginning to form.

* * *

Atrocitus watched this battle in interest. He did not know who this Red Lantern was. It must have been recruited after his capture.

It also seemed to be more intelligent than his other soldiers. It did not blindly attack in rage, so perhaps it's mind was not completely controlled by its rage. Similar to Dex-Starr.

But he was not prepared for the shock to come.

Just as the dome around it was about to shatter, the Red Lantern aimed his ring at Daggle again. But instead of a beam, a giant fist construct was formed, and it smashed Daggle to the opposite wall. The impact caused Daggle to crumble to the ground in pain.

Atrocitus could hardly believe what he saw. The Red Lantern used constructs. But it's should have rendered it's mind incapable of basic thought, let alone creativity and focus. Perhaps there was an issue with the ring?

"Massster" Atrocitus suddenly heard. He looked down, and saw Dex-Starr outside his cell. Atrocitus smiled at his cat.

The smile was very wide, fanged, and hideous to some. It filled Dex-Starr with glee to see it.

"I will free you" the cat said to his master. He directed his sight to the pad that controlled the energy dome enclosing Atrocitus' cell. He fired upon it with the ring on his tail, destroying the pad. When he did, the dome disappeared.

"The battery" Atrocitus said, directing Dex-Starr to the source of blue light in the room. Dex-Starr nodded, and moved a safe distance away from it. From there, he created a wormhole underneath it, sending it away.

The infernal blue light was gone, and Atrocitus could feel the power of his ring, the power of his rage returning. Licks of the red light began sprouting from his body, and his restraints began to shake.

"**AAAAAHHHHHH!**"

With an enraged yell and mighty strength, Atrocitus tore through restraints that were meant to hold a full-powered Kryptonian like they were paper!

Finally free, Atrocitus knelt down reach Dex-Starr. "Good kitty" he said as he petted his head.

Then he turned his sights to the other Red Lantern. Was it the one who had bought the Corps here? Did it think it would usurp the position only belonging to Atrocitus?

One thought coursed through his mind as he marched towards it.

"_I THINK NOT!_"

* * *

Lelouch was thankful to have survived. He originally had no intention of fighting, but it seemed that Dex-Starr loved making things difficult. First he held up the attack by making him wait for a nickname and a mask, then he sent him to fight the guard. Thankfully the guard wasn't as determined as his first fight, otherwise he might have trouble. The only reason he had survived his conflict with the Red Lanterns is because Dex-Starr stopped them from killing him. He was just lucky that this Green Lantern fell after one hit.

Still, he would need more practice with his ring.

He should check on Dex-Starr, make sure he got Atrocitus...

"**YOU!**" Lelouch suddenly heard shouted. He turned to see a large, red, demonic looking alien. The only reason Lelouch didn't consider it a demon was because every strange creature he had seen the past few days had been an alien. But this one, with its clawed hands, razor fangs, and violent yellow eyes, could certainly be mistaken for one.

"Did you lead my Red Lanterns here?" the creature (who Lelouch was assuming was Atrocitus) asked him.

"Y-yes" Lelouch anxiously responded, not sure why Atrocitus looked infuriated at the moment. He got his answer when Atrocitus grabbed him by his right shoulder and lifted him off the ground. His grip wasn't very gentle.

"**YOU WOULD DARE TAKE MY LANTERNS FROM ME!**" Atrocitus bellowed. "**NONE SHALL TAKE MY RIGHTFUL PLACE! NONE SHALL...!**"

"No Massster!" Dex-Starr said, flying in between Atrocitus and Lelouch. "He lead only to sssave you!"

Upon hearing this, Atrocitus seemed to calm down marginally. He turned his sight to Lelouch again. "Why would you seek to free me?"

The gaze of the yellow eyes struck intense fear into Lelouch. If he did anything wrong, he had no doubt that Atrocitus would be able to kill him with little, if any effort. He would have to tread carefully.

"I came to save you because I need your help" he told him.

"With what?" Atrocitus asked.

"M-my world. It- it needs saving" Lelouch told him.

"Hmph" was the only sound Atrocitus made as he dropped Lelouch to the ground. "We will discuss you later. For now we must find the Guardians. I will finally be able to end their lives, to make them pay with blood..."

"Not here" Dex-Starr interrupted.

"**WHAT?!**" Atrocitus screamed. "How can they not be here?!"

"Heard Greensss talking. Guardiansss gone today" Dex-Starr elaborated.

Now Atrocitus was fuming. His entire body was glowing red, and steam was coming off from him.

"They have the audacity to sentence me to death, and **NOT BOTHER TO SEE IT THROUGH?!**" he hollered as he stormed towards the still unconscious Green Lantern.

Only Lelouch saw that he was regaining consciousness. His eyes were beginning to open, just in time to widen as Atrocitus stepped right up to him. He stood up and tried to move away, but he was too slow. Atrocitus then formed a gauntlet construct around his right fist, and launched it the Green Lantern.

His entire head was smashed against the wall. The collision caused blood to spatter all over the wall behind him. When Atrocitus pulled his covered fist back, it was covered in blood, as well as small pieces of skull bone and brains, along with one eye. It all fell to the floor when Atrocitus undid the construct, as did the body it was once attached to.

Something else fell to the floor from the Green Lanterns dead body. As the ring left its corpse, and the uniform came undone, small, black coin-like disks also fell to the ground. One of these disks landed on its side, and rolled away. It didn't stop rolling until it hit Lelouch's foot. Curious, Lelouch picked it up to examine it. But he didn't get time.

"We are returning to Yhsmault. Now" Atrocitus ordered Dex-Starr and Lelouch, as well as every other Red Lantern through his ring. But for some reason he seemed... calmer. Like hi rage had left the moment he had killed the Green Lantern.

He pointed his ring outward, and opened a wormhole. Lelouch snuck the the disk away as he entered the wormhole.

* * *

"We're pushing them back poozers! Keep going" Kilowog yelled as he and the rest of his Corp formed a line to push through. They were making progress, the Red Lanterns were unable to push past them. Hope was being restored.

But then Abin Sur noticed something. Portals were beginning to appear behind the enemy. Many of them were already disappearing.

"Wormholes! They are attempting to escape!" Abin shouted to his Corpsmen.

But it was too late. Already, more than half the enemy had escaped into the wormholes. By the time the Green Lanterns had noticed what was happening, the Red Lanterns had already vanished.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kilowog screamed indignantly. "They launch an attack on us and then just run away? They didn't even get their master!"

Abin Sur, who was still processing what had happened, suddenly widened his eyes.

"Or did they?" he said, causing many other Green Lanterns to widen their eyes as well. "The Sciencells! Someone check!"

"On it!" Ch'p the H'Ivenite said as he zoomed to the Sciencells.

"Abin" Tomar-Re said. "What is happening?"

"I believed this attack to have been planned. We were all kept busy with the fighting, and we left only one Lantern to guard Atrocitus."

Suddenly, Ch'p hurriedly came flying back. "This just got worse! Von Daggle is dead, and Atrocitus is gone!"

Whatever optimism had existed earlier that day was now replaced with gloom and disappointment. As the Citadel laid in ruins, so did the spirits of the Green Lanterns.

"Abin, what just happened?" Tomar asked his old friend.

"We were outsmarted" Abin said as he turned to face Tomar.

"We lost."

* * *

**Yhsmault**

Lelouch stepped outside the wormhole back onto Yhsmault. He was back in the same place where he had met the other Red Lanterns days before. Speaking of them, they were now beginning to show up. Surprisingly, there seemed to be just as many as there were when they all left for Oa.

Lelouch leaned over to Dex-Starr. "How many did we lose?"

"None. Greensss not allowed to kill" Dex-Starr informed him, before going to rally the other Red Lanterns.

Really? Well that was certainly advantageous.

But before he could ponder that any further, Atrocitus turned around and set his sights on Lelouch.

"Now as for you. What was it you were saying about you world?"

Once again Lelouch had to tread carefully. The last thing he needed was Atrocitus directing his rage towards him.

"I-I need your help to free it. There is an empire that is trying to take over the planet. They are subjugating anyone they can."

Atrocitus paused at hearing this. "How well do you know this Empire?"

"Quite well. I was a part of it."

"**WHAT?!**" Atrocitus suddenly yelled. "You took part in the subjugation?"

Now Lelouch was scared. "No! NO! I..."

Before he could explain, Atrocitus swung his clawed hand. Lelouch moved so that it wouldn't injure him. He wasn't able to dodge it completely.

The strike managed to hit his mask, shattering the entire oval blocking his face and damaging the rest of the front. The strike also knocked Lelouch face-first onto the ground.

"You attempt to take my place as leader, and you reveal yourself to be a tyrant! Tell me why I shouldn't kill you..." Atrocitus began saying, before Lelouch lifted his head for Atrocitus to see his face.

"...child" Atrocitus said softly. His gaze turned to shock as he looked into the scared eyes of the boy he had just struck. He hurriedly walked to him and knelt down.

With eyes wandering around in shame, Atrocitus did his best to apologize. "I... I am sorry. I did not know you were a child. I would not have struck you if I did."

Lelouch felt just a little more at ease at hearing this. "O-Ok".

Atrocitus faced him fully. "You are from Earth, aren't you? A human?"

"Yes."

Atrocitus contained his anger as best he could. Humans were known to be a species on the lower end of the spectrum. He would need to be delicate.

"You are so young. And wearing my ring. How is this so?" Atrocitus asked the boy.

"It's... It's quite a story" Lelouch told him.

Atrocitus used his ring to form two bench constructs. "Sit. Tell me the story."

Lelouch sat down, and told Atrocitus everything. He told him about his upbringing as a prince, his happy life that ended when his mother was murdered. He told him how his father refused to investigate, and banished him and his sister to another nation for questioning him. He told him about the first true friend he made, and how he lost both him and his sister when trying to find shelter. He told him how he had sworn to make Britannia pay, and the ring found him shortly afterward.

For a few moments, Atrocitus only sat on his bench. He made no movement, no sound. Then he extended his hand. Lelouch wondered what he would do. Take back the ring? Pull him close to shout in his face about his weakness? Lift him again?

What he didn't expect was for Atrocitus to simply and gently put his hand on Lelouch's head, ruffling his hair.

"You have my sympathies boy. I am truly sorry for what has happened to you. No child should go through that" he said, surprising Lelouch further. His voice held a lot more sadness than he had expected.

He pulled his hand back. "I will help you to master your ring. But you must do something for me first."

"What?" Lelouch asked, nervous as to what those two things might be.

"First, you must kill Lelouch vi Britannia" an order that confused Lelouch. "No longer are you the exiled prince. Your true sister is gone, so you are no longer a brother. From this day forward, you are a Red Lantern. Lelouch is no more."

What Atrocitus said was true. Lelouch had died with Suzaku and Nunnally. He was all that remained.

"Dex-Starr called me Rankorr" he told Atrocitus.

Atrocitus seemed pleased at this, his mouth forming a small grin. "A good name" he said a she stood up.

"Come Rankorr. We have work to do."

Lelouch... No, Rankorr got up and followed him.

His training to become a powerful Red Lantern would begin today.

* * *

**Earth- C's World**

Charles sighed as he disconnected himself from the Collective Unconscious. His recent conversation did not bring him joy.

"Charles" someone said. Said Emperor turned to see a figure begin to take shape. It was a woman, one with dark hair, violet eyes, and an orange dress.

"Marianne" he greeted. "I assume you are aware as well."

"Yes" she sadly said. "It seems our children were lost in the invasion."

"I have just finished conversing with Nunnally" Charles informed Marianne.

Marianne turned to him expectantly. "What about Lelouch?" she asked.

Charles' face broke into a deep frown. "He is not here."

"What? is he still alive then?" Marianne asked.

"I do not know. Neither does V.V. We have both searched tirelessly, but we cannot find a trace of him anywhere" he said a he looked to the Collective Unconscious. "It's as if he simply disappeared from the face of the Earth."

Charles then shock away his frown, and set his face back to it's natural neutral expression. "In any case, it matters little. Once the Ragnarok Connection is ready to commence, all the worlds troubles will be washed away."

"Yes dear. You are right" Marianne said with a smile. "Soon, all will be one."

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed that. Let me know what you think in the reviews.**

**As for the changes with Atrocitus, I decided to show a different version of him. Something other than the hulking brute most media portray him as. He is more than that.**

**Look up his ending in Injustice 2. That should give you an idea of where I am heading with him.**

**Anyway, next chapter will be when the true changes start occurring. **

**Until next time!**


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